1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer software and, more specifically, to an approach for in-product micro-blogging for design sharing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of software applications are currently available to end-users, including computer-aided design (CAD) applications, computer graphics applications, animation applications, word processing applications, and computer programming applications, among others. Many of these software applications allow an end-user to interact with the software application via a graphical end-user interface (GUI). Conventional GUIs often provide the end-user with access to a set of tools that can be used to perform various operations within a workspace generated by the software application. For example, a CAD application could provide a set of drawing tools that could be used to create complex designs within a drawing workspace generated by the CAD application. In such a case, each tool in the set of tools would be represented within the GUI with an icon that the end-user could select in order to use the tool.
Despite advances in application designs that allow end-users to more easily operate complex applications, learning how to use such applications can still be problematic. More complex applications, for example, like the CAD application described above, often include thousands of commands or functions from which to choose and many ways for an end-user to combine these functions into workflows. Consequently, with unfamiliar aspects of complex applications, even expert end-users may require assistance.
In an effort to share knowledge and experiences related to using different software applications, end-users sometimes post their designs and related instructional materials on websites, such as discussion forums or blogs. Such websites attempt to provide guidance to other users regarding how to use a particular application tool or simply function to update others on the progress of a specific project on which another user is working. While such technologies enable users to distribute designs and instructional materials to a wide audience, these technologies have several limitations. For example, forum- and blogging-related websites and applications are typically external to the software application from which a user wishes to share content. Consequently, a user must interrupt his or her workflow to manually prepare content to be shared, which can be a laborious task. Due to the loss in productivity associated with sharing content, many users who would otherwise be willing to provide exemplary designs and guidance to others may choose not to do so. Moreover, users who do choose to share content may provide infrequent updates. For instance, tutorials and discussion forum threads are typically posted only after a project or large discreet aspects of a project are complete.
As the foregoing illustrates, there is a need in the art for a more effective way for users to share application content and instructional information with other users.